This focusses on the part played by Dominican nuns in Irish education (both north and south, but mostly south) from 1820 to 1930. This was a period when many schools were set up in Ireland, where primary school education became compulsary and where people decided that education for women wasn't completely evil and wrong. It was still a time of circumscribed learning, where girls weren't challenged as much as boys but you can see over time with the subjects being offered where this was slowly changing.

I am a product of a Dominican education in Taylor's Hill Galway. It was interesting to see some of the legacy stuff I saw being started in this. My school was still a place where french and art were subjects people studied at least to Inter Cert and where a certain snobbery was inherent. I find it interesting to see how this would have rooted.

It's a good book on how the Dominicans contributed to the education of Women in Ireland and worth a read, if that interests you. A starting point.

I will have to look up Sr Rose O'Neill's A Rich Inheritance, a story of Taylors Hill. Which should be interesting.

Some snippets that caught my eye and merit further investigation.
p. 27 "The Dominicans left the Cross Street convent in1845 and moved to their present location in Taylor's Hill on the west side of the city. Here they began another poor school for the children of the families fleeing from the effects of the Famine in Connemara, who were coming into the city in search of food and shelter. The nuns began the school to prepare the children for the reception of the sacraments and they also taught the skills of knitting and sewing." - I wonder what knitting was taught, socks? Are there extant patterns. I think I need to pester my aunt the Dominican nun.

p36 "The Dominican school in Wicklow experimented with a small hosiery enterprise with limited success from 1901-04. They sought advice from the Irish Sisters of Charity in Foxford, Co. Mayo, whose woollen mills were thriving and well known. The advice from Mother Arsenius Morrogh-Bernard was that the hosiery industry was not a viable proposition and so the classes in Wicklow were discontinued." - and now I'm wondering what kind of hosiery and what happened to the machinery, if indeed it was what I think it was.

p53: Quoting Hufton "[t]he educational package offered by the petites écoles, accentuated literacy less than it did catechetical instruction which would allow the pupil to resist heresy. Second came survival skills, that is spinning, sewing, lace-making and embroidery." (speaking about education for Deaf girls) - interesting to see what they considered as survival skills and again I wonder where the wheels are.

p73. {The Urusline] curriculum or 'course of instruction' is that given for 1840, and included English, French and Italian languages, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, astronomy and use of globes. The unusual subjects were: conchology - the study of shells and shell-fish; mineralogy, inlaying, heraldry and japanning - the Japanese method of varnishing. The accomplishments were catered for with music, dancing and painting." - I think I would have enjoyed some of these subjects and actually I did inlaying/marquetry and heraldry as hobbies while in school, just not in school.

p193. "Industrial classes were for children who did not have the opportunity of secondary education and were taught a trade, mainly needlework and the use of sewing machines." - needlework is such a catch-all phrase, I wonder what is meant by this.
...
"St Mary's School for Deaf Girls was one centre where the industrial training was very successful. The vocational department, as it was called, opened in 1863 when lace-making, dress-making, tailoring and embroidery were introduced." I'm curious about what lace-making was taught, needle, bobbin, crochet or knit? One for further research. ( )